Photographer's Note

‘Mestia - Streets of Mestia’

Hereby three street views of Mestia.

Mestia is a small town in the Svaneti region in the Caucasus in northern Georgia. It is located at an altitude of 1.500 meter.
In the town itself live 2.600 people. In the area around (132 smaller villages) around 14.000 people.

Mostly Svans live in Mestia. The region has like no other in Georgia preserved its original medieval appearance. The Svans have retained many of their ancient traditions and besides Georgian they speak their own language: Svan.

As shown in my previous photos the town is dominated by stone defensive towers.
A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a house, a tower and some other household structures surrounded by a defensive wall.

Information found on Wikipedia.

Mestia is easily accessible by minibus (marshrutka) from Zugdidi and from Kutaisi. The road to it has recently been much improved and tourism is clearly growing.
Also many new homes are built, however not anymore in traditional style. Nevertheless, several streets and alleys still remain very picturesque.

What a SUPER photo - I really like the mood that is created by your excellent well timed capture of this lady walking under the arch - all dressed in black she adds so much to the photo.
The textures of the Medieval surrounding structures looks wonderful... I don't mind the modern picket fence just adds that splash of colour as a nice background to the black clothing.
Excellent sharpness, POV & content.

Hello Paul - Your WS shots document very clearly the changes to the village but here you concentrate on an old and rustic corner. The darkly clad lady adds an evocative human presence which completes a shot filled with texture. I love the natural wooden roof shingles... Warm regards Rosemary

The dominant entity that forces the mood of the photograph is the mysterious Lady in Black.
She is walking away from the place.
The cobble stone streets are vacant. The walls dilapidates and the plasters falling off...
The roof has quaint sheds. The rectangular opening it seems open out to a different world. More colourful, more greenery and obviously more open in contrast to the narrow walled lanes. The bright brown of the fencing stands out.
Thanks for sharing, Paul. Excellent work.

Hello Paul,
I like this tightly cropped composition of very tightly packed features. I get an impression that visiting this place would to some extent feel like stepping back in time. I don't see anything here that couldn't have looked the same a few hundred years ago. In spite of the medieval walls the woman in black has become a natural focus, a dark figure walking towards the light. Looking also at the workshop photos I feel that this is a nice place to visit, but living here - or even staying more than a day - could be quite boring, unless you have a very good reason for a longer stay.
Kind regards,
Gert

Hi Paul,
A very beautiful and interesting view! The woman, who brings life to the scene, is only silhouetted in the gateway but she is still very important in the composition. Good colours and impressive buildings with many nice details.
Kind regards
Gunnar

Good evening.
Interesting and good article about the town in the mountains ...
Good time recording and contrast, beautiful colors.
Good work, beautiful architecture and shown the moment the lady in black.
An interesting and beautiful architecture.
Have a nice evening and night, all the best for the weekend, good luck.
Paja.

Hi Paul,beautiful close up on the streets of this old city,great timing to take the woman in black,there is a strange and mysterious atmosphere,i like it!! Have a nice day and thanks fro this new interesting post.Luciano

Hello Paul,
I love this kind of scenes!
Really well done!Beauty of the old architecture combined with human element-the woman is excellently placed in the shot making it not only more "lively",but for me also moody.

Hi Paul,
nice the view of this close section of Mestia town with the passing by woman in black to contrast perfect with the other parts of the image.
I like the well chosen vertical format as adds effective in it.

Hello Paul
Without the figure, this would be an interesting image of old vernacular architecture; with the figure it is transformed into a study of a living town. I'm pleased that you have not gone down the route of exaggerated saturation that seems so common these days. Nice work, from an area that I don't know at all.
Regards
Will

Hello Paul,
I would echo Wills remarks,it is indeed the lady in her traditional clothes that puts the most interesting of scenes into a proper context.
There are a great many architectural features also to study and enjoy.Fascinating.
Best wishes Les.

Hi Paul,
very attractive capture: I like the abundance of the walls with the silhouette of the woman adding some mystery and interest here. We can also spot some hills behind the gate which let us imagine an amazing location of this place among the mountains.
Very well seen and captured,
M

Hi Paul.
A magnificent composition, which also reminds me of a wonderful structure for painting, the presence of that person across the door gives a great charm.
Very good textures and details of these old walls.
A colorful perfect very natural.
A bright image with optimum clarity.
Well done. I Like
Have a good start to the week.
Best wishes.
Luis.

I'm going to echo Gert's note here, it was also my first impression that this image felt like stepping back in time. The virtual silhouette of this person in passing couldn't be better placed, the perfect deep contrast of color and addition of presence to the otherwise empty streets. A smart composition, the tight framing really pulls me into the image, I feel as if I'm standing right there myself. Terrific textures and details throughout, this turned out extremely well!

Hello Paul,
I like very much how you arranged these enormous blocks of stone in your vertical frame and found a great perspective and a walking woman to show us that this is a lived in environment. Your composition shows the medieval character of this remote town very effectively, the black dressed figure is mysterious and your picture looks timeless (to enhance this effect, I would leave out of the frame the pillar seen in the distance.) The textures are sharp and intriguing, light and colours have a very fine quality. I find the workshop pictures are very interesting and useful too, as I knew nothing about this place. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great evening,
Ourania

hello paul, I have missed this photo from Mestia. So interesting the main one and in the workshop. It is good that the more turists come and something new is built, but on the other hand, I like the places more back in time. very nice composition from the older part, the walls are impressive high. have you waited for someone to pass the gate/ The woman in black is just in right place. How strange that such a small community has its own language.
Warm regrads malgo

Hi Paul !!
This is a " Quality " photo ...... it is so nice.
The contrast between the austere wall & the street is in great contrast with the woman walking away and dressed in black.
Great composition, well balanced and nicely presented.
Have a nice week end.
Cheers
Gus